Employee Relations:

Employee relations is a fairly new term which describes the field that examines the relationship between management and their workers. In most cases, it focuses particularly on groups of workers who are represented by a trade union.

Employee relations can also be referred to as Industrial Relations or Labour Relations (I.R or L.R for short).

As employee relations take place on many different levels, such as the "shop-floor", the regional level, and the national level. The distribution of power amongst these levels is crucial as it can greatly shape the way an economy functions.

An important aspect of employee relations is their ability to adapt to change as change is inevitable. Changes can be technological, economical or political, each of which raises the important questions of how an entity should respond.

The framework for employee relations is set by the Government through legislative and regulatory means. These laws dealing with employment range from issues such as minimum wage to wrongful dismissal.